My educational background:

I hold a Bachelors of Mathematics (Joint Honours Computer Science & Actuarial Science) and a Masters of Mathematics (Statistics-Finance), both from the University of Waterloo.

From where does your passion for big data come?

My Dad infected me with computer programming at an early age. This was followed by an interest in actuarial science when I started university and then expanded into computers science through several courses in numerical analysis. I guess I might have been waiting for big data to come along for some time!

A cool approach to big data I’ve come across:

I am always interested in the awesome impact of big data. I think some of the most impressive applications are sentiment analysis – computers being able to discern feelings from text — and recommender systems that seem to read your mind and find what you’re looking for. The application to medicine is truly amazing in its potential.

Tell us a bit about you life away from work:

Away from work I am auntie to three amazing nieces and two incredible nephews under then age of 10. I enjoy playing with them at the beach, in the pool, at the cottage, around town, and just in general!

A piece of advice I live by:

Be confident in myself, and patient while others catch up to my way of thinking.